The case of a 15-year-old Hong Kong girl whose naked and swollen corpse was found floating at sea last September has led to an open verdict on Friday, as a jury could not determine the cause of her death.

The mysterious death of Chan Yin-lam, a student at the Hong Kong Design Institute, sent shock waves through the city after her body was found floating in the waters near Yau Tong on Sept. 22 last year, during the peak of Hong Kong’s anti-government protests.

There has been much speculation over the cause of Yin-lam’s death, with some conspiracy theories suggesting that she was murdered by Hong Kong authorities for her participation in pro-democracy protests. Coroner David Ko, however, has ruled out both suicide and homicide as possible causes of Yin-lam’s death.

During an 11-day inquest into Yin-lam’s death, Ko told the five-person jury that there was a lack of evidence to indicate that the deceased had been assaulted “under the threat of personal injury or the influence of medicine or drugs” and added that suicide could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt. “There is evidence incompatible with suicide,” Ko said.

Ko said jurors could consider whether Yin-lam’s death was an accident due to the absence of evidence that could pinpoint the exact location and the time of her demise.

Philip Beh, the principal clinical practitioner at the University of Hong Kong’s medical school, testified as an expert witness during the inquest. Based on the autopsy result, Yin-lam’s death was not likely caused by drowning, he said.

Police have denied suggestions that law enforcement and the government were in any way involved in Yin-lam’s death. But the mysterious circumstances surrounding the case have fueled widespread ire and public distrust against authorities and have triggered demonstrations in Yin-lam’s name, especially in the district where her body was found.

Students and protesters have also accused the Hong Kong Design Institute’s management team of doctoring CCTV footage that showed Yin-lam’s final appearance on campus before her demise. The school has been vandalized multiple times in the aftermath of Yin-lam’s death.

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